Sunday, March 9, 2014

Your Daily Giant 6/8/2013

Today's Daily Giant comes from the Evening Star, September 14, 1897, page 11. A discussion of the relics of the Mound builders is given. "M. G. Mock of Muncie Ind., who has a large collection of Indian and Mound builders relic and curiosities, was at the Smithsonian Institution yesterday. Mr. Mock has probably 10,000 objects in his collection, which he has gotten together simply to gratify a taste of his own in this regard. He has been making the collection for thirteen years and is exceedingly proud of his acquisitions. Whenever Mr. Mock is in Washington he visits the Smithsonian to have a chat with the heads of the department of prehistoric anthropology, compare notes with them and examine any new objects of interest which have been secured by the institution since his previous visit...Mr. Mock has been in mounds in many of the states, delving for the relics of the mysterious race who buried their dead and then erected the mounds as monuments...The more prominent the persons are, too, the more relics are found about them,. "Pottery is often found in the mounds but is generally in imperfect condition. Some of the skeletons found in the mounds have been those of men of gigantic proportions, seven feet or more in height." Mr. Mock is a prominent member of the Order of Red Men and was passing through Washington to attend the convention in Philadelphia." The curator of Prehistoric Anthropology of the Smithsonian at the time referred to by Mr. Mock was Professor Thomas W. Wilson. Two years later in 1899 in a burial mound at Miamisburg Ohio, an eight foot one and a half inch skeleton was unearthed and verified by Wilson. From the Middletown signal January 17, 1899 article, "Professor Thomas Wilson curator of prehistoric Anthropology, Smithsonian Institute, says of the find: "The authenticity of this skull is beyond doubt. It's antiquity great, though it is impossible to give good guess as to its age. To my own personal knowledge several such crania were discovered in the Hopewell group of mounds in Ohio, exhibiting very monkey-like traits. The jaws were prognathous (projecting beyond the face) and the facial index remarkably low." The article goes on to speak of the giant skeleton and the strange formation of the skull, "The skeleton is of prehistoric age, being fossilized, its giant proportions present a puzzling problem to the archaeologists. The old theory of tradition that there were giants in early days of the earth has long been discredited. It is a fact, generally agreed, that prehistoric men were little, dark, monkey-like, hairy creatures considerably smaller than those of the present day. This prehistoric giant seems evidence of the opposite state of affairs. He is clearly a man, and a very well formed and very well proportioned one as to his limbs... The prehistoric giant must have had a head not differing greatly from a gorilla. In stature however, he was far larger and also better formed...The jaw bones are intact and show that their possessor was patterned in the most powerful fashion. The teeth are models of strength and beauty of form. Dr Harlan, a dentist of Miamisburg, examined the teeth and declared them to be as fine a specimen as any he had seen. Other doctors have also examined the teeth and the skeleton... The body was not the only relic of interest to those engaged in scientific research found in the pit. A small flat stone about three inches long and two inches wide was discovered in the opening. It lay within a few inches of the skull of the prehistoric man, as the local examiners insist that the find should be termed. Through one end of the stone had been drilled a small hole, possibly intended to be used as an opening for the fitting of a handle. It is pointed out by those who have had their theory of the species of the discovery questioned that the stone, so evidently the work of human hands, clearly indicates that the skeleton was that of a man and not a mammoth monkey. The bones have been placed on exhibition and many are the curious sightseers who have passed in wonder before them." The article then lists the "Giant of the Miami Valley" along with other giants of history including Charles Byrne the famous Irish Giant. We can only assume that the skeleton ended up at the Smithsonian like so many others. The article shows the giant skeleton was noted to be on display and examined by scores of professionals including the head of Anthropology at the Smithsonian. When the skeptic says where are the skeletons, it is very clear what a ridiculous statement that is and clearly indicates that this is a person acting in bad faith who is unqualified to give an opinion on the matter.

About Me

I am a stonemason from Ashfield, Massachusetts, a town in the highlands of western mass. My brother Jim writes articles about the lost stonebuilder culture of New England for the West County Independent and Ancient American magazine and together we and our crew research and go looking in the field for remnants of a culture that stacked stones all over the Northeast and built stone monuments all over the globe.